Not only had they witnessed an ingenious tactical victory—defeating a stronger opponent—but an evolution had occurred right after the match!
Meng Ming stared blankly at Gible, now bathed in evolution light.
It… evolved?
Then next time… can Blaziken and I still get our revenge?
No—absolutely not.
Our shared dream of reaching the pinnacle as Trainers can't end here.
I will defeat you!
"Rooaaar—!"
The roar pierced the sky, already carrying the faint resonance of a dragon's cry.
The white light faded.
Gible's chubby body stretched and slimmed down. Two horn-like protrusions grew on its head, blade-like fins extended from its arms, and its hands transformed into sharp, white, single-clawed talons. The Pokémon now looked far fiercer and more imposing.
Pokémon: Gabite
Level: High Tier – Mid
Potential: Champion-tier
Ability: Sand Veil
Moves: Dual Chop, Bite, Dig, Sand Tomb, Dragon Claw, …
Even back when it was still Gible, it had devoured countless rare Berries in the League's resource zone. Recently, it had also enjoyed Oliver's top-tier Dragon-type Energy Blocks. This evolution fully activated the residual medicinal effects and stored energy in its body.
That was why it jumped straight to High Tier – Mid the moment it evolved.
Oliver happily rubbed Gabite's head, then recalled it into its Poké Ball and turned to leave.
"Wait! What's your name? I'll definitely defeat you next time!" Meng Ming shouted after him.
Oliver didn't even slow his pace. He simply waved his hand and left quickly with Mu Xue, avoiding anyone getting close enough to recognize him.
Meng Ming clenched his fists.
Not even telling me his name… That's way too arrogant!
Next time—next time Blaziken and I will reclaim our victory!
The story of a mysterious youth defeating Blaziken with Gible—and evolving it on the spot—was destined to become hot gossip throughout the streets.
But that had nothing to do with Oliver anymore.
He and Mu Xue walked to a secluded area before finally stopping.
"So… you joined that match because you knew Gible was on the verge of evolving?" Mu Xue asked curiously.
"Uh… you could say that," Oliver scratched his head.
"This is something I invented—scientific training."
He obviously couldn't say the system gave me a quest.
Mu Xue sighed. "Pokémon researchers really do have unfair advantages."
They hailed another cab back to the neighborhood. Oliver wanted to invite Mu Xue over for a bit, but she went straight back to her own villa, leaving him no choice but to drop the idea.
"You're back? How was it—did anyone in the capital give you trouble?" Oliver's mother asked with concern when she saw him.
Oliver had told her that the League headquarters summoned him to Beijing for an award ceremony, and since Mu Xue was familiar with the city, she went along with him.
"It was fine. I even met the current Dragon-type Heavenly King—though honestly, the food over there didn't suit my taste," Oliver said, choosing not to mention anything about his father.
He didn't know whether his mother was aware of the truth.
If she didn't know, telling her might only cause fear and disbelief.
And if she did know, then there must have been her reasons for not telling him.
Either way, he would uncover the truth himself.
Oliver's mother paused as if recalling something.
"The Dragon-type Heavenly King… My son really is getting more impressive—meeting people like that."
"Mom, I'm going upstairs to check on Celebi," Oliver said as he put down his luggage.
"Alright, go on."
"Oh right, Mom," Oliver suddenly turned back.
"I caught a new Pokémon in Beijing—Gabite."
"Gabite?" His mother's expression turned a little strange.
"A pseudo-legendary… Then you must train it well."
She lowered her head and continued chopping vegetables. Whatever Pokémon her son caught, a mother's role was simply to support him.
Oliver entered his room and immediately saw Celebi sitting on a chair with its back to him.
At first, Oliver wondered since when Celebi had grown that tall.
Then he looked closer—
Good grief.
A crooked stack of books was piled on the chair, and Celebi was sitting on top of them just to reach the mouse and keyboard.
Wearing headphones, Celebi hadn't noticed Oliver's return and had just started a new game.
Oliver decided to quietly watch and see how good Celebi had become.
From the very start, after some basic construction, Celebi aggressively led its civilization's starter Pokémon to hunt wild Pokémon tribes, rapidly expanding its power. Its hand speed was insane—so smooth that even Oliver felt inferior watching it.
Even Pokémon groups that were clearly too strong for the current phase were taken down through flashy micro-operations. Then, before the AI opponents could even develop properly, Celebi sent an army straight to their core and wiped them out.
Judging by the AI behavior, this was maximum difficulty—yet Celebi crushed them without mercy.
Oliver was completely stunned.
It's only been a few days… how did Celebi's skills skyrocket this much?
At that moment, Celebi finally noticed Oliver standing beside it and turned around in surprise.
"You're back!"
"Your skills have improved really fast," Oliver said sincerely.
Celebi puffed out its chest proudly.
"Of course! These computers are no match for me anymore. There's another PC over there—want to play a round with me?"
It was clearly eager to show off the results of its hard work.
"Uh—cough," Oliver cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
"I've got something important to ask you first. The game can wait."
"Oh… alright," Celebi said, a little disappointed.
"What is it?"
"It's like this—I went to the League headquarters to collect my reward. I chose a water orb containing a trace of Kyogre's origin power, but Milotic can't fully absorb it yet. Do you have any ideas?"
Celebi listened seriously at first—
Then froze.
"K-Kyogre?!"
Celebi jumped up from the chair like a startled cat whose fur had exploded.
In its mind's eye, a dark blue ocean deepened in color as a colossal fish-like Pokémon slowly emerged from the sea, ancient patterns glowing faintly across its body.
And in the distance, a massive crimson Pokémon wreathed in magma strode forward—
wherever it stepped, land was born.
The primal titans of the sea and earth—
Kyogre… and Groudon.
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